


Camping is hard to do.

by Rhinkhearted



Category: Rhett & Link, rhink - Fandom
Genre: Camping, Clumsiness, Link is a hot mess when it comes to camping, M/M, Rhett is amused, Strangers to Lovers, au where Rhett and Link don't know each other, rhink
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-02
Updated: 2017-06-02
Packaged: 2018-11-08 05:12:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11074758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rhinkhearted/pseuds/Rhinkhearted
Summary: Rhett takes a trip to his usual camping site during off season, only to find it's already occupied by a handsome brunet by the name of Link Neal, A Rivalry begins.





	Camping is hard to do.

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place in an alternate universe where Rhett and Link have never met before.

The morning sun warmed his back as Rhett loaded the back of his SUV, he tucked his camping gear snuggly into the backseat and then double checked that his canoe was strapped on properly before heading out to Camp Moonlight bay, his favorite place to camp. He was almost certain to have the place to himself due to it being the off season, which is when he usually went so that no one would bother him, he hoped to get a lot of writing done for the song he’d been working on. he glanced over at the guitar strapped upright in the seat next to him and grinned. “We’ll be alone in no time old girl” he said before turning back to the road. 

It was mid-day by the time he arrived at the camp grounds, He couldn’t help but roll the window down to inhale the familiar scent of the forest that surrounded him, his excitement flared within him, It felt so good to be back. His excitement dwindled however when he spotted a car parked off to the side where he normally parked his SUV. “Who the hell could this be?” he grumbled as he parked behind the little blue prius. He slammed the door as he got out and ambled off in the direction of where he always set up camp not bothering to lug his stuff with him at the moment, he hoped that the other person was simply there taking in the sights and not planning to stay for long. He could hear grunts and groans coming from the direction he was heading in as he got closer and stopped momentarily, he hadn’t taken into account that perhaps a couple had come up here for a romp, He ran a hand through his sandy blond hair and listened closely, when he didn’t hear anything for a few moments he decided to continue on his trek. 

Rhett stopped in his tracks when he came to the edge of the clearing, there about 8 feet away stood a frustrated looking man with his hands on his hips and his hair a mess. “Gosh dangit!” Rhett heard the man exclaim before kicking dust towards what looked to be a sad excuse for a tent, the thing was all out of sorts and Rhett could have sworn it had been put together upside-down. instead of approaching the other man Rhett stood back and watched as he attempted to ‘fix’ the tent. 

Rhett shook his head, cleared his throat and spoke. “I really hate to interrupt, but this is my camping spot” He began to walk towards the other man, who whipped around so fast he lost his footing and fell flat on his ass before Rhett’s vary eyes. “Woah there” 

“Shit!” Link exclaimed as he hit the ground, he’d landed on something hard which after a moment he remembered it to be his compus. “What do you think you’re doing sneaking up on a guy like that huh?!” He stood up slowly, his head spun a bit and his bottom was sore but after giving himself a quick mental evaluation he found that that was all that seemed to be wrong with him. 

The look on Rhett’s face was one of pure amusement, he tried to stifle the laugh that was threatening to surface. “I’m Rhett, Rhett McLaughlin and this is my camping spot as I stated before” He gestured to the open space around them in case the clumsy brunet needed to be reminded of their surroundings. 

Link looked the tall blond man before him up and down, taking in the worn out blue jeans and flannel shirt. “You some kinda mountain man?” He asked still eyeing him, his hair was messy and his beard looked as if it may have a life of its own. “Also I don’t see your name on anything out here, so how do I know you’re tellin me the truth?” 

“Listen here little britches, take my word for it. This is my camp site and I want you out of here in no more than an hour, Although I doubt it’ll take you that long to gather your…gear” He glanced around at the single duffle bag, the discarded tent bag, the jumbled tent and the fold-up lawn chair that occupied the grounds. 

The other man gave an indignant snort “Excuse me?, Little Britches?” Link rolled his eyes and turned away from the blond, returning to work on his tent. “I’m not going anywhere, if you want to stay here then by all means stay, But I’m not leaving, there is plenty of room for the both of us” He called over his shoulder. 

Rhett’s eyes rested on the other man’s ass as he spoke. “Fine, We’ll share the camp but you have to stay on your side and I will stay on mine” He tore his eyes away from the soft swell of the man’s backside and picked up a large stick, drawing a line in the dirt to indicate his side of the site and the other’s side. “There, Now I’m going to go get my gear and when I come back your things best be on your side of the line or I’ll put them there myself” 

When he heard Rhett’s retreating steps Link turned around and stuck his tongue out, even though the other didn’t see it was still satisfying. Link began to gather his items as quickly has he could, not willing to allow the other man the satisfaction of tossing it around like he was sure he would do. 

It didn’t take long for Rhett to retrieve his stuff, he opted to leave the canoe tied firmly to the top of his SUV and only brought what he’d need right now back with him. He sat his stuff down and smiled smugly upon seeing all of Link’s items on his side of the line. “So, is that thing your tent?” he said nodding in the direction of the heap of nylon and plastic tubing.

Link lifted his chin in defense. “Yes, It’s uh..it’s a new model, that’s how it’s supposed to look” he lied lamely. “Where’s your tent?” he asked glancing behind Rhett, the space behind him was a large pile of things, assorted bags and totes, Link was amazed the man could carry so much at once. 

“My tent is right here in this sack” Rhett picked up a rather small nylon sack and began to unzip it revealing more nylon material that was folded up into a square, he sat the folded square on the ground and then picked up a black battery pack with a tube on the side of it, he placed the tube inside of a plastic piece on the nylon square and flipped the switch. within 3 minutes his tent was aired up and standing proudly upright beside him. “See?” he grinned triumphantly.

Link tried to keep his expression void of any emotion but was sure he was failing, he could feel how wide his eyes had become and fought against the urge to open his mouth in shock. “Y-You’ve got to be kidding me” he stuttered, looking from Rhett to the tent. 

“You know, you never did tell me your name” Rhett mused as he started to unpack. Along with his tent he had brought a duffle bag with two extra changes of clothes, a small bag of toiletries, a cooler full of beer and beef jerky and a rolled up feather sleeping bag. 

Link sat in his fold- up chair and watched the man set up camp “I’m Link Neal, Camper extraordinaire” He called out. Rhett was inside his tent spreading out his sleeping bag and Link felt envious, there was no way he’d be able to sleep in the mess of a tent he had. He stuck his tongue out when he heard an amused chuckle from Rhett.

“Where ya off to?” Rhett asked a while later when Link went walking in the direction of their cars. “Maybe he’s giving up” He thought to himself, but alas he wasn’t picking up his things therefore that was highly unlikely. Link continued walking but informed him over his shoulder that he was going to get his fishing pole to which Rhett raised his brows in interest. “Fishin eh? This should be entertaining.” It wasn’t long before Link returned with a rather new looking pole, Rhett was impressed, not that he would let Link know that. 

Link took his pole to the edge of the lake they were camping beside and pulled some rubber bate from his jeans pocket, He baited the hook and then he cast out, which happened to be a big mistake. 

Rhett watched in horror as Link went face forward into the lake, he shot up from his seat and took off at a run. “Hey! You alright?” He called out once Link resurfaced, sputtering.

“F-Fine! I’m just fine!” Link replied ignoring Rhett’s outstretched hand as he made his way onto the muddy bank. “The ground was just muddy and I didn’t realize it, No big deal” 

Link’s missing pole didn’t go unnoticed by Rhett as the other man passed him by, heading back to camp. “Where’d your pole go?” He asked trying to keep the amusement out of his voice as he spoke. 

“I-I dropped it” Link admitted, his tone one of defeat. “It was a rental too, I’m going to be in deep shit” He sat down in his faded lawn chair and slumped down. 

Rhett frowned and put a hand on his shoulder in reassurance. “Look, I’m sure the water where you were ain’t that deep, We can go in after it” He gave himself a mental facepalm for saying “We” and not “You” making it sound as if he was going to help get the pole. 

Rhett’s hand was large and warm on Link’s chilled shoulder, his clothing was soaked and covered in mud and yet the other man didn’t even seem to mind touching him, if he were being honest with himself he wasn’t minding being touched by him. “No, No it doesn’t matter, it’s long gone and not worth it anyways” Link shrugged under the weight of the others palm. “Hey, Aren’t you breaking your own rule?” Link inquired suddenly as he realized Rhett was on his side of the camp.

“Huh? Oh shit” Rhett pulled his hand away and made a hasty retreat to his side of the line. “Sorry” he mumbled. He already missed the feeling of Link’s body under his touch and wished he could feel even more of it “What the hell is wrong with you?” he thought.

Link regretted informing the man of his rule breaking, He felt even colder now that Rhett had moved away, his large body no longer radiating heat onto him. “I guess I should change…” He sighed after a moment, looking around for his duffle bag, it didn’t take long to come to the conclusion that it was no longer where it had been sitting. “Fuck!” He kicked at the ground, grunting when pain shot through his toe, Damn him for wearing flip flops out here. 

Rhett had been bent over rummaging through his cooler in search of his teriyaki flavored jerky when he heard Link curse. “What’s wrong this time?” He huffed turning to look at Link, Link was rubbing his temples and his glasses had slid down his nose, Rhett thought he looked sexy all flustered and ruffled like he was. “Sexy? Where did that come from?” he mumbled.

“My duffle bag is gone!” Link shouted, throwing his hands up in the air in a wide V. “All of my clothes were in there!!” He was now spinning around in circles with a frantic look on his face. “I don’t even have underwear now!” he cried.

“Oh..Oh boy” Rhett couldn’t believe his luck, he was going to be stuck out here with his unexpected neighbor, his SEXY unexpected neighbor, All alone and the man was going to be naked for at least part of the time. “Um..That’s some bad luck you’ve got there brother” He chuckled, nervously running a hand through his hair. 

Link worried his lower lip between his teeth for a moment, contemplating what his next action should be, finally he came to the conclusion that the only thing he could do was get naked, wash his clothes in the lake and hang them to try, all while trying not to act embarrassed by walking around nude. “I-I’m going to wash my clothes in the lake, so uh…yeah” he began to strip out of his jeans and button up.

Rhett sucked in a deep breath as he watched Link strip, knowing he should look away but not being able to bring himself to do so. “Oh gosh” he swallowed thickly around the lump in his throat. Link’s bare chest was even better than he had anticipated, and he found that the man had some killer hip bones that were just begging to be sucked and bitten. “Stop that” he scolded himself, now was not the time to pop a boner.

“Uh, do you mind?” Link said clearing his throat, He’d looked up from his now unzipped pants and noticed that Rhett was watching him intently with a look that Link could only describe as hunger in his eyes. “I would really appreciate some privacy for a moment” He said leveling Rhett with an almost pleading look.

Rhett snapped out of his thoughts of pinning Link to the ground and fucking him and quickly spun around, giving the man the privacy he’d asked for. “Sorry, man. I zoned out” 

Link had finished undressing and washed his clothes in the lake as best he could. “I really hate to ask…but do you have any rope?” he called out from down by the lake, he hoped Rhett would loan him some for a clothing line.

“Way ahead of you” He replied as Link came into view, his arms loaded down with his dripping clothes. “I knew you’d need a line to hang them on, so I figured I would be nice enough to fix you one” 

Link couldn’t help the lopsided grin that spread across his lips upon seeing Rhett standing on his side of the line with a rope tied from one of ‘his’ tree’s to one of ‘Link’s’ tree’s. “Thank you, you really didn’t have to do that”Link said softly, already folding his clothes over the line on his side. “Quick question, How’d you get it on one of my tree’s without breaking your rule?” 

“A little rule breaking never hurt anybody” Rhett shrugged, his small lips pulled up in a smile. “Look’s like the sun is going down, don’t think you’ll be getting those dried tonight” he mused.

Link looked up to the sky, the sun was indeed setting already. “Ah well, I can sleep naked” he shrugged, though he knew he wasn’t going to be able to sleep what with worrying a bug might get into some inconvenient places while he slept. 

Rhett kept his gaze averted as he spoke to Link, He wasn’t oblivious to the fact that the other man was stark naked sitting in his lawn chair by the fire he’d managed to create but he wasn’t about to let him catch him trying to sneak a peek at his dick either. “So uh, where ya gonna sleep?” Rhett awaited Link’s reply but the man seemed to be lost in thought, looking up at the night sky. 

Rhett’s voice broke through Link’s deep haze and he looked over at him, his question slowly registering “Huh? Oh, in my tent of course” Link gestured towards it. “Where else would I sleep?” He raised his brows as if challenging Rhett to give him an alternative place, “like perhaps inside his fancy tent” Link grinned at the thought of his naked body being in such close proximity to Rhett’s burly self. 

“Out under the stars maybe, or in your car” Rhett replied although he had a few other ideas for where he could sleep, but he refrained from sharing those. “Don’t give me that look, I was only kidding..about the car” He said when Link shot him a look that said ‘are you nuts?’.

“I’d be too cramped up in that little car, and I would like to sleep inside my tent where mosquitoes won’t eat me alive” Link sighed then stood up and began to stretch like he’d do any other time, momentarily forgetting his state of nakedness which was slowly growing on him, feeling rather delightful if he was being honest with himself. 

Rhett made the mistake of not looking away which he regretted instantly due to the growing hardness in his nether regions. “Fuck” He couldn’t draw his eyes away from the lean figure just across the way from him, the firelight danced across the man’s lightly tanned skin accentuating every curve and dip of his body as it did so. Rhett licked his lips when his eyes focused on one spot in particular, he sucked in a deep breath and became choked up, coughing and grasping the arms of his chair wildly, trying to catch his breath. 

Link’s eyes snapped open and he looked at Rhett noting the obvious panic on the bearded man’s face. “Oh My God! are you okay? shit, fuck!” Link jogged over to him not even caring about the fact he’d just crossed the line, breaking the rules again. “Don’t die on me now man!, It’s dark, I hate the dark! I don’t want to be alone out here with a dead body!” Link began to pat the man on the back rapidly, his hand making a loud smack every time it landed on one of Rhett’s bare shoulders. “Bare shoulders?, When did he take off his shirt?” Link wondered momently before Rhett gripped his wrist to stop him from hitting him on the back again. 

“HEY! Stop it, I’m fine!” Rhett gasped, holding Link’s wrist tightly in his large hand. “You don’t need to hit me anymore, good gosh” He couldn’t help but take the time to notice three things, One being that Link had crossed the line, Two being that he crossed it to save his life, and Three that he was now face to dick with the man and good lord was it impressive this close up. 

“Oops” Link giggled sheepishly, pulling his hand free from Rhett’s grasp. “Sorry, uh..I think I’m gonna go to sleep, since you’re uh safe and all that” His voice was breathy and low when he spoke and he cursed himself for getting so worked up. He looked at Rhett and saw that the man was shaking his head and a little grin played at the corners of his lips “Wh-What?” Link turned to look in the direction where Rhett was looking off behind him, his eyes immediately went to a flaming heap of something, that something happened to be his tent. “FUCK, NO NO NO!” He ran towards it, not sure of what he could really do about it now other than to douse it with water so it wouldn’t catch anything else on fire.

Rhett shook with the laughter that ripped through him, Today Link had managed to lose his fishing pole, practically ruin his clothing and now he’d managed to burn his tent to the ground. “Oh man, Y-You have such shitty luck” Rhett guffawed as he made his way over to stand beside Link, he had a good 7 inches on the man he realized now that they were standing so close. “Look’s like you’ll be sleeping under the stars tonight after all, Brother” Rhett clapped him on the back and grinned down at him.

“Shut up” Link growled halfheartedly, he felt so exhausted he didn’t even have it in him to feel embarrassed or truly angry. “Help me put this thing out, unless you want it to catch the rest of my stuff and possibly yours on fire” He said with a sigh. 

Rhett didn’t reply but instead he picked up his cooler and took the remaining 6 pack of beer and the last two packs of jerky out of it before dumping the melted ice water onto Link’s tent. “There, problem solved” He was starting to feel sorry for Link and his bad luck, he also started to think of how cold it could get up here at night, especially in the off season, Link could run the risk of pneumonia if he slept out in the open naked like he was. “You know..there’s room for two in my tent..” He offered quietly, not sure Link would really hear it.

Link flushed at Rhett’s suggestion of them sharing one tent, it wasn’t that he didn’t want to do so, it was that he REALLY wanted to and wasn’t sure if he could handle being so close to him for so long, so…naked. “Ah..I uh, I don’t know..” He looked up at him with furrowed brows “Are you sure?”

Rhett nodded and headed towards his tent “Of course, it’s made for couples mostly, I bought it last summer before..ah..before I got dumped” He chuckled humorlessly. 

“Oh, Sorry to hear that..May I ask why you got dumped?” Link was shocked that someone as handsome and kind as Rhett could possibly be dumped by someone, but then again he didn’t know him that well, maybe he was psycho.

“I’d rather not talk about it”Rhett said stiffly, pulling back the door flaps on the tent. “Now if you’re going to share the tent come on, I’m tired and would like to get some rest before you catch something else on fire” He snickered when Link stuck his tongue out at him. 

Link made his way over to the tent and waited for Rhett to go inside. “Move faster, Man. I’m getting cold” Link urged and Rhett shook his head but ducked inside and began to situate himself on the single sleeping bag, it was then that Link realized they’d have to share a sleeping bag too, his had burned up inside the tent. “Great” he thought “This won’t get weird at all”

The two men settled into the sleeping bag, Rhett allowed Link to get in first and then climbed in behind him turning so that they were side to side on their backs, they laid as far apart as they possibly could but even then their shoulders were close enough to brush against one another if they moved the slightest bit. 

“Well..uh, Night Link” Rhett said thickly, he was having trouble keeping the nervousness out of his voice. “Please don’t let me get a boner right now” He thought to himself as the sleeping bag shifted, Link had turned on his side facing away from him causing his bottom to inadvertently brush against Rhett’s bare thigh. 

Link tried to ignore the rush of heat that jolted through his body when he felt Rhett’s bare skin against his bottom. “G’night, Rhett..” He whispered “And Thank you for letting me sleep in here” he added.

Rhett stayed on his back knowing that if he was to turn away their bottoms would brush and if he turned towards Link..well…something else would likely brush with Link’s bottom and that would raise some serious questions, questions he wasn’t willing to answer..yet. “No Problem, Brother” he finally replied, but it was too late, apparently Link was able to fall asleep in 0.1 seconds because Rhett got no reply other than Link’s light breathing.

It wasn’t long before Rhett dozed off but it didn’t last long at all. “Damn it to hell” he grumbled sleepily, he shifted slightly and felt the familiar twinge in his back flare up. “Shoulda known this would happen sleepin on my back” he grumbled once again. After laying there another minute or two thinking about his options Rhett sighed and turned towards Link, of course his dick brushed against Link’s backside despite how slowly he was moving. “O-Ohh, goodness” Rhett hissed, it was as if he’d stuck his privates to an electric fence, the slight touch sent shivers up his spine and tingles through his every limb. “if this is what it feels like to just brush up against him accidently, I can’t imagine what it would be like to rub against him on purpose”.

Link’s dreams were filled with naughty things, thing’s he was certain his bedmate would be grossed out by if he knew Link was dreaming them, he tried to rouse himself from sleep but he just couldn’t do it he didn’t want to really, he wanted to stay there in his dreams forever with Rhett’s large hand groping his rear and making it’s way around to his stiff cock, it felt so real.

Rhett was gentle with his touches, his hands cupping Link’s bottom before making their way around to his front giving it an experimental caress. “Fuck, Rhett what are you doing? stop yourself now before you fuck up big time” he chided himself quietly, but didn’t stop instead he left his hand there on Link’s front softly rubbing it. He froze when Link let out the tiniest of moans. “Oh no, No no, Link don’t wake up now” He begged silently. 

“Mmm” Link moaned in his sleep. “God this dream is amazing” dream Link said softly to dream Rhett, Dream Rhett smiled before flicking his thumb over Link’s leaking tip. “R-Right there, oh please” Link mumbled unbeknownst to the fact that he was saying it outloud.

Rhett froze again, his thumb spreading Link’s precum over his soft tip. “This has gone too far, Rhett you need to stop” Rhett warned himself, this time he pulled his hand away but when he did it caused him to shift again and his hard cock pressed to Link’s ass, spreading his own precum across one cheek. “shit” he gasped.

Link’s eyes snapped open and he glanced back in the darkness “Rhett?” he whispered into the small space between them. He could swear he felt something hard and wet press against him, but just as fast as he had felt it the feeling disappeared, all but the wetness actually. “What’s going on?” he’d heard Rhett curse, hence the main reason he’d awoken. 

“Ah uh..I just, slept on my back wrong” He lied, voice tense. “Go back to sleep” He hoped that Link would just let it go and doze off again, he needed to take care of his..issue, as soon as possible. 

Link was quiet for a beat, thinking about how real the things he’d been dreaming of felt. “Rhett..” He said softly, barely above a whisper. “I need to ask you a question” He rolled over onto his side to face Rhett, the other man was mostly shrouded by darkness, the only light coming in was dim moonlight which illuminated his wide, nervous eyes. “Were…Were you touching me, just a moment ago?” he waited with baited breath for Rhett’s reply.

Rhett's heart felt like it was beating a million miles a minute as he tried to construct a story Link might believe, but in the end he decided to go with the truth. "Y-yes, I..I'm sorry, I shouldn't have" he looked away from the piercing blue eyes that seemed to be looking into the very depths of his being. He wasn't at all prepared for Link's reaction. 

"Oh, Goodness" Link felt his face turning red, his heart fluttered in his chest. "Don't apologize.." Link took a deep breath and then closed the short distance between himself and Rhett, their lips met clumsily in the darkness and their noses bumped, but that didn't stop them from pressing closer together, hands roving over each other's bodies.

"L-Link, wait" Rhett pulled back breathing heavily, eyes half lidded and Link whimpered at the loss of their heated kisses. "What are we doing?" He asked though he was pretty sure of what it was. 

"We're making out in a tent in the woods, I'm hard and you're hard, I want you and I'm pretty sure you want me too" Link said breathlessly, still grasping onto the swell of Rhett's firm ass. 

"Thought so" was Rhett's smug reply before he pulled Link in for another kiss, this one was softer but meant just the same as the others, Rhett wanted Link for sure, wanted him for the rest of his life. "I hope you fuck better than you camp, brother" he said against Link's lips earning a jab in the side and an indignant scoff from the brunet.


End file.
